Calgary Wild FC stuns league-leading Ottawa 4-3 in Pride Match thriller

Calgary Wild FC kept its late-summer surge alive Saturday afternoon, defeating top-ranked Ottawa Rapid FC 4-3 at McMahon Stadium to extend their winning streak to three games and hand Ottawa its first loss in 10 matches.

The Alberta Premier League is the province's highest level of pro-am soccer and provides a pathway for players competing at the university, semi-professional, and professional levels. Calgary fielded both men's and women's teams in the match, part of the Club's Pride Match celebration in front of a passionate home crowd.

Kahli Johnson opened the scoring in the 17th minute, with the 22-year-old offensive stalwart extending her influential run. Johnson then set up Serita Thurton for a chip over Ottawa goalkeeper Mollie Eriksson to make it 2-0 10 minutes later.

Ottawa clawed back when Jung Min-Yung fired in at the 37th minute after a defensive lapse. Mel Forbes equalized in the 45th minute, but Calgary answered immediately in stoppage time when Taegan Stewart's corner found Thurton rising above the Ottawa defense for her second goal of the afternoon.

"The ball T played in was amazing, I found the open space and just wanted to get my head on it," Thurton said afterward. "All credit goes to Taegan. The rough start we had to the season is why we can really appreciate these wins."

Calgary received another advantage in the 55th minute when Ottawa's leading scorer Delaney Pridham was shown a red card, leaving the Rapid with 10 players. Josie Aulicino, one of five new additions to the Wild lineup this month, made an immediate impact in the second half. She moved the ball forward to Jorian Baucom, who calmly finished in the 76th minute to put Calgary ahead 4-2.

Ottawa refused to surrender. Jyllissa Harris converted a penalty kick in the 85th minute to cut the deficit to one, but the Wild held firm through the final minutes. Baucom's goal proved to be the winner, securing the victory.

"The ladies are improving all of the time," said assistant coach Kory Babington. "Ottawa is a quality team with great players and well coached. This result shows that when we play how we know we can, every game will be competitive."